Global Cement News

US: Cemex has increased production of Portland limestone cement (PLC) at its Lyons plant in Colorado. PLC is expected to become the plant’s primary product by the summer of 2022. The blended cement has been produced at the site for over 15 years. However, Cemex says it is growing production to meet the company’s carbon reduction goals and meet increased demand for lower carbon materials.

Cemex USA has also increased PLC production at its plants in Brooksville, Florida, and Demopolis, Alabama. The start of PLC production or further increases is planned for other cement plants later in 2022.

US: Drake Cement despatched 80,000t of cement in March 2022, its highest ever figure. The company has congratulated colleagues on the record volumes.

Argentina: Christian Dedeu, the chief executive officer of Holcim Argentina, has warned that there is no guarantee that there will be gas available for his company’s cement plants in the winter of 2022. In an interview with the El Cronista newspaper, Dedeu said that energy prices had risen due to the war in Ukraine and that importing liquefied gas by ship was becoming both harder and more expensive.

He also expressed concern about the government system of price controls on bagged cement, which had made it cheaper to buy bagged instead of bulk cement. Smaller companies are already reportedly buying large consignments of bagged cement and breaking it up to save money.

Japan: Logistics group Tohbu Network has acquired Shiogama-based cement distributor Tohoku Sanko. The Nikkei newspaper has reported that Tohoku Sanko serves the customers of cement producers in Akita and Miyagi Prefectures. The group aims to expand its sales footprint and its productivity through shared use of vehicles, facilities, software and human resources.

Norway: HeidelbergCement, agricultural cooperative Felleskjøpet AGRI and shipping company Egil Ulvan Rederi plan to build what they say will be the world's first zero-emission bulk carrier. The project has also received support of around Euro12m from the Norwegian government-owned sustainability company Enova. The vessel is scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2024. Once operational the ship will be used to transport aggregates products for HeidelbergCement and grain for Felleskjøpet between west Norway and east Norway using hydrogen powered transport.

Egil Ulvan Rederi was selected following a tendering process in 2021. The ship is intended to be highly energy efficient, using rotor sails and has a streamlined design to reduce energy consumption. It will be powered by hydrogen from Norwegian energy supplier Statkraft but will also have small auxiliary batteries and a fuel cell on board to maximize flexibility.

Giv Brantenberg, general manager HeidelbergCement Northern Europe, said “The project addresses emissions from the transport part of our value chain. It is unique, ambitious and future-orientated. It is fully in line with HeidelbergCement Group's target to be the leading actor in our industry on the path to carbon neutrality." HeidelbergCement estimates that the carbon footprint of the aggregates products can be reduced by 50 - 60% by using the zero emission vessel, as transport accounts for a significant part of the total carbon footprint of these products.